The Ferris Wheel
by Jordan Greyson
Summary: Jack and Kate's first date. Complete! Especially interested in hearing what all you JackKate fans have to say!


Standard disclaimers apply, I do not own 24 or any of its characters.  
  
The Ferris Wheel  
  
He cursed for the tenth time, regretting his decision to wear a shirt that needed to be ironed. His hand was burnt, the shirt still wrinkled and he was running out of time. Jack unplugged the iron and left it on the ironing board. He went to his closed and got a gray pullover. Screw this, he thought, now the pants don't work. He figured jeans would be safe and he hoped like he!! he had some that were clean. He was relieved to find that he did and changed into them. Shoes. Damn. The black ones were ... somewhere. Jack took a couple of precious moments to think and remembered he had left them by the couch. As he put them on he tried to think of anything he was forgetting. If it would have been a mission he was preparing for things would be going much more smoothly. But this was a date.  
  
Just the thought of that word made him sick. Tilt-a-Whirl sick. Gravitron sick. Sh!t, why again had he asked Kate to go to the fair instead of to a nice dinner or something? Why had he been ironing a shirt to go to the fair? Focus Jack. What else? Probably lots of things he was forgetting. He hadn't been on a date since Teri, or Nina if you could count what they did as dating. He shoved that thought away. Not going there tonight. Okay. Cologne. He should wear some. In his mind he saw the things in his bathroom and cologne was not among them. He looked at the boxes stacked in the corner of the small living room. Probably in one of those. He hoped Kate liked the smell of Irish Spring soap because that would have to do. Flowers, wallet, keys and he was out the door.  
  
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Kate had gotten ready too early. He wouldn't be here for 45 minutes. She sat and tried to read. No go. Her laptop was on the table filled with emails to reply to and reports to finish. That wasn't going to happen either. She would just sit. No. She would go get a small glass of wine, and then she would sit. She poured her wine and then sat at the kitchen table. She tucked her hair behind her ear and smiled thinking that last week she had sat in this same chair, with the same wine, wondering if Jack would ever return her call.  
  
She had talked to him when he was in the hospital. She had wanted to check on him to make sure he was okay but she knew it was more than that. She told herself that it was natural to want to reconnect with someone you had been through an intense experience with. She was relieved that he was okay and wouldn't have to be in the hospital long. He told her that Kim was spoiling him beyond belief. He wanted to know how she was handling things, how she was holding up. They hadn't talked too long because she could tell he was tired. They hung up with promises to get in touch, to get together when Jack was out of the hospital.  
  
It had felt so good to talk to him. He was the one person in the world who knew everything she had gone through, what she still had to deal with. Every day since the bomb had been saturated with thoughts of Marie. She woke up every morning knowing that she would have to be strong for her heartbroken father. She had to be the one to deal with the lawyers, to deal with Warner Enterprises, to handle each crisis without giving in to the constant pressure of her own grief. She honestly felt like she had been doing something like this since her mother died. After talking to Jack she had let herself have the relief of a small diversion. She found mind wandering to thoughts of the intensity of Jack's blue eyes, his voice close to her ear, and his arms that had held her only for a moment. She thought about how she had been affected as she watched him get on that plane to take that bomb to the desert. How sad and strangely alone she had felt. And how, despite everything else that had happened she had felt warm and happy when she saw him alive at CTU. Okay maybe it wasn't such a small diversion after all.  
  
But Jack hadn't called her. She knew he was out of the hospital because during a CTU debriefing Tony had told her. Weeks went by. Kate decided to call the home number he had given her. Answering machine. She left a casual message saying she hoped he was well and to give her a call. Another week went by. And then on Monday night, while she was finishing dinner, Jack had called.  
  
"Kate, hi."  
  
She had stood up then, grabbing her wine as she did.  
  
"Jack."  
  
The words came out as a smile, matching the one that was stretching across her face.  
  
"It's good to hear from you". She started walking then, from the table to the kitchen doorway.  
  
"Took me awhile, huh?"  
  
"I'm just glad you called, Jack. You sound good. How are you feeling?" Back to the table.  
  
"Good. I'm good, to the relief of my doctors I might add. I'm not a very cooperative patient." He paused. "How are you Kate?"  
  
It was a casual statement when most people said it, but she could hear in his voice that he really wanted to know. During the day that she spent with Jack there were times when he was talking patiently to her while his agent's mind and his eyes were everywhere but on her. And then there were times when he had locked eyes with her, their faces inches apart, and he had talked to her as if she was the only person left in the world. That was the voice she heard now. She walked out of the kitchen and went to sit on the couch.  
  
"I'm doing okay Jack. It's been hard. Marie's trial date has been set, but it's still months away. She still won't talk to me or my father. At least she is finally talking to the attorney we hired. He's working really hard on a deal for her. If she'll take it. If she'll talk." She kicked her shoes off and pulled her feet up under her.  
  
"I'm really sorry Kate. I know I've told you before but I really am."  
  
"Thank you Jack." She paused wanting to change the subject, wishing she hadn't brought up Marie. Knowing that it had been inevitable that she would. She felt like he was the one person she could talk to honestly about Marie.  
  
"How is Kim, Jack?"  
  
"She's great. We've been able to spend a lot of time together but now she is going back to school."  
  
"That's great Jack. Please tell her that I said hello and good luck in school. What is she going to study?"  
  
"Well assuming she passed her GED which she's sure she did, she'll be studying computer science to start with. I'll tell her you said hi. She asks about you....Kate.."  
  
There was a long pause. Kate thought that maybe they had gotten disconnected. But then his next words sent her off the couch and to pacing to the kitchen again.  
  
"Kate, would you like to....." She nodded, silently urging him on. "I was thinking we could....." Nodding, walking, urging. "Kate I am trying to ask you to go on a date with me and I'm failing brilliantly."  
  
She laughed. "Jack I would love to go on a date with you." Yes, she thought. Yes.  
  
He wanted her to go to the LA County fair with him on Friday night. They made plans for the time Jack would pick her up and then hung up. She had her outfit picked out the next day. Kind of a unique first date, the fair. She still had three days to wait to see him.  
  
And now sitting here with her wine she waited still. She wondered if he would be on time. She thought he was the type who would. Thank God the wine was helping to calm the butterflies doing aerobics in her stomach.  
  
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Jack checked the gas gauge. He had more than enough for the night. It was a about a 40 minute ride from Kate's house to the Fairplex in Pamona. He again questioned just why he had asked her to go to the fair. He hadn't been to one since Kim was small. Last Sunday night he had seen a television commercial for this year's fair and thought of Kate, why he didn't know. He had been thinking about her a lot. Sure, he thought about her in terms of the day they had spent together, but that wasn't all. Wasn't nearly all. At first when he would think about the woman Kate, not necessarily the day of the bomb Kate, he had felt guilty. Jack began to realize though that in part he was using his guilt and grief over his wife's death as an excuse. George Mason's speech to him in the plane had played in Jack's mind like a soundtrack over the last couple of months. He had made things right with Kim, and in two weeks he would begin serving his country again as the Director of Field Operations at CTU. But as for forgiving himself, not now, maybe not ever. Despite that, he had relented that he had to separate his guilt over Teri's death from moving on to a possible relationship with someone else. And after coming to that conclusion he had given himself permission to call Kate. To ask her for a date. So last Monday he had finally called her. Although he had pretty much butchered the phone call, she had sounded really pleased that he had asked.  
  
He made the turn into her neighborhood and slowed down. He was starting to get.... Ok well he was already a little anxious and he was moving towards downright nervousness. He wondered what it would feel like to be with Kate tonight. It would be so different from the only other time they had been together. But despite all of the horrible things that had happened that day there were still a few things Jack liked to remember, especially about Kate. He found that he had put those things aside, as if in their own private box, away from Goren, away from the b!tch Nina, even away from Wald's damned dog.  
  
Some things in the box concerned the outside Kate, her achingly beautiful face, the way her hair felt under his hand, her smile when she saw he was alive.  
  
There were other things though. They were the real reasons he was putting aside his guilt and abiding his paralyzing fear of starting over in another relationship: Her bravery at the Mosque, just after witnessing a death by torture and being forced to anticipate her own. The understood conversation they had as he got in the plane with the bomb, her one word, "Jack" and his lingering stare. And one more thing, a secret thought, the worst and the best one all at the same time. She had lived his life that day. She saw the things he had to do. She did some of the things he had to do, including killing a man. She had learned more about his job after one day with him that he had told Teri in all their years together. Actually, it was, for Jack, a very intimate thing. He felt a strange relief when he thought about it. If Kate knew all she knew and would still let him ring the doorbell with a flowers in his hand, well then, one big issue was already out of the way. Inside Jack whispered that if he thought that, then he was being royally stupid, but Jack didn't want to hear him tonight and told him to shut the he!l up.  
  
He pulled into her driveway, took a deep breath, and grabbed the flowers Kim had told him to purchase. Not roses, she had told him, not for a first date. She had chosen white violets saying that giving those to someone meant "lets take a chance". Sincere, sweet, not too much, but just enough. He just had to take her word for it; he felt hopelessly lost trying to figure out the finer points of dating. He walked to the door and rang the bell.  
  
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She heard the bell and made herself wait a full 10 seconds before going to open the door. Even though she had been ready for what seemed like hours she didn't want to give that impression. She walked slowly to the door and opened it. Her first thought was that somebody else, not Jack Bauer stood at her door. The hand that had held a gun or a phone for much of the day they were together now held flowers. The clothes, well of course those were different too but the most striking difference was in his face. It held the most beautiful smile, and it was aimed at her.  
  
"Hi Kate." He handed her the flowers.  
  
"Thank you Jack, they're lovely."  
  
She took them and as she did her hand touched his. Electric. He took her other hand in his and kissed her cheek. She breathed in Irish Spring and thought it was the best thing she had ever smelled on a man. Oh boy. Slow down Kate. It's only a date. She invited him in and he followed her into the kitchen. She wanted to put the flowers in water. As she did that they chatted about Kim a little. Talked about the fair a little. As she moved to put the vase on the table Jack let a sentence trail off. She turned back to him, a small expectant smile on her face.  
  
"It's really good to see you Kate."  
  
And in the same spot they had occupied just a few months ago, she found herself in his arms again. Better this time without the tears. He pulled back slowly.  
  
"Are you ready to go?"  
  
"Yes, just let me get my bag"  
  
As she walked to get it, Kate had to remind herself for the eighth time tonight that his was just a date.  
  
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Poof. Just like that he had felt the nervousness go. It had been the flowers. He didn't fully comprehend it, but seeing a woman perform the familiar act of putting flowers in a vase and then expertly choosing just the right spot for them was calming. An ordinary moment. He almost gasped at his ability to recognize what it was about it that affected him. It almost felt like coming home, but to a new house. With all new furniture. But with a familiar design. He watched her walk out of the kitchen, enjoying the way her hair caught the light. He also took the time to admire the way she moved, aware that she was being observed. After a few seconds, he followed her.  
  
They went out to Jack's truck and he opened the door for her. As he walked around to the driver's side, he realized that he had so much to talk to Kate about. But instead of being overwhelmed or intimidated by all the things that needed to be said, he saw the conversations they would have stretched out in front of them like cool green fields of grass. No hurry. No pressure. That's how she made him feel. It was funny to Jack that he and Kate knew a few very important things about one another, serious things, intimate things, but practically everything else waited to be discovered. As they drove they stuck to relatively safe topics, things any two people might talk about on a first date. To Jack it felt blessedly normal. They talked about college. Jack wanted to hear about Kate's years at Stanford as an Economics major, but she was fascinated by his degree. Not the Masters, but the Bachelors in English Literature.  
  
"I know, I know. I don't seem like the type.  
  
"No, it's not that." Kate smiled and looked out the window. "Okay, well I guess it is sort of unexpected. What led you to that decision?"  
  
"Mrs. Sylvia Alderman, my high school English teacher. During senior year she did this horrible book report project. She chose a book for each student that she thought they would never choose to read themselves in a million years. For me she chose Wuthering Heights. I thought it would be the stupidest, girliest thing I had ever read. I finished the whole book over the weekend and on Monday morning I was asking her what I should read for my next book report."  
  
Now it was Kate's turn to surprise Jack.  
  
"'I shall never be there, but once more, and then you'll leave me, and I shall remain forever. Next spring you'll long to have me under this roof....'"  
  
"'And you'll look back and think you were happy today.'" He finished for her. "Not bad for an Economics major."  
  
She laughed. "Yes, at times we do pry ourselves away from the latest interest rates and the value of the dollar in Japan long enough to get some culture. I actually took a few English Lit courses."  
  
"I never took any Economics though, so don't expect the same quality in our conversations about that, hey, here's our exit"  
  
As he pulled off of I-10 towards the Fairplex Kate asked him why he had chosen to come here. He didn't really have an answer for her other than to tell her about seeing the commercial on TV and thinking of her.  
  
"It just seemed to me like the thing to do at the time?"  
  
Kate laughed, an easy sound, moving softly through the cab of the truck. "Have you ever been here before, to these fairgrounds?"  
  
"I used to go every year when I was younger. I must have spent most of the money I earned mowing lawns and delivering papers on a couple of nights at the fair. Teri and I used to take Kim, before she got too old to be seen with us. How about you?"  
  
"I've only been once, when I was a teenager"  
  
"Did you like it?" Jack knew he should have realized that the county fair was not a place often frequented by the Warner clan.  
  
"I did Jack; I'm really excited to be going again"  
  
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And she was. She had been to the fair when she was 13, with a friend and her friend's parents. It had been just before Kate and her family had left for Saudi Arabia. She remembered that she had loved the lights and the crowd. Although she had only braved the tamer rides, she had loved hearing the screams and shrieks of the people on the fast ones, the sickening ones.  
  
As soon as she stepped onto the midway, Jack holding her hand she remembered that the best part was the smells. Corn dogs and funnel cakes, sausages with peppers and onions, popcorn and French fries covered with chili and cheese. Foods rarely consumed in the Warner household. She told Jack about how much she had eaten that day, and how, even though she was sure she would, she didn't get sick.  
  
Jack laughed. "I got sick plenty of times. But only because I would eat and then decide to go on...." He looked around for a second and then pointed to a ride that resembled a Ferris wheel, but with cages that rocked and whirled 360 degrees instead of regular seats.  
  
"...something like that."  
  
As they walked around the grounds Kate began to think that coming here for a first date was a perfect choice. It was so far removed in every respect from the day of the bomb. And that was good. There would be plenty of time for them to talk about that day. They would have to talk about it, but Kate didn't want to, not yet. Because when they did, she would have to talk about the trunk of that car and what might have happened after, had things occurred differently. And then there would be talks about Marie, and her father's broken heart. But not now. What she wanted to do right now was hold the hand of a man so breathtakingly handsome, that she finally knew what it was like to have her knees go weak. Cliché and all. Here was Kate Warner, of prestigious Warner Enterprises, walking around in blue jeans, eating an elephant ear, and feeling so much like a girl in awe of her first crush. Silly. Ridiculous. Magic.  
  
They stopped in front of a Ferris wheel. Kate looked at it and turned to Jack. "Want to?"  
  
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In an instant Jack knew why he had connected Kate with the fair. The Ferris wheel was the old fashioned kind. It had bench seats, with a bar in front, that had room for two (or three if someone didn't mind straddling the cross bar and getting smashed to death).  
  
There had been one almost just like this over 20 years ago. He had been almost 15.  
  
He had been wandering around the fair alone that night having been told to get lost by his older brother and his brother's ridiculous friends. He was standing near a ticket booth, carefully counting his remaining ride tickets and planning how he would use them.  
  
"Jack Bauer, is that you?"  
  
He looked up to see a pretty girl about his age with smooth blond hair and blue eyes. He did not recognize her.  
  
"Yeah, I'm Jack"  
  
"Remember me, Lisa Shannon from Wells Elementary? I moved after 3rd grade. I'm here visiting my aunt."  
  
Now he remembered who she was. "Oh, yeah, hi Lisa. We were in Mrs. Robert's room together that year."  
  
"Well yeah, but you spent most of the time up in the principal's office." She laughed. Not mocking but teasing.  
  
"What can I say, she brought out the worst in me." He smiled back at her.  
  
"Nah, she was just ticked most of the time because you were so smart you didn't have to listen to her boring lectures to make A's on the tests." She rolled her eyes, obviously having the same opinion about old Roberts as he did.  
  
"Wow, you remember a lot about 3rd grade." So did Jack. He didn't mention that fact to her.  
  
"I don't know about that, but I do remember a lot about you. I always wished I could be as tough as you. It seemed like you weren't afraid of anything. Remember how you stopped Peter Winslow from pushing me and Stacey around that time?"  
  
Inexperience with hearing and responding to compliments, Jack just nodded and smiled.  
  
"So do you wanna walk around for awhile?" She did.  
  
Jack remembered 3rd grade very well. He had been scared of plenty. That was the year that his mother had gotten sick leaving him and his brother virtually unprotected from his alcoholic father. Not that she had been able to do much about his abuse in the first place. She was a victim of it too. His behavior at school that year had been all bravado, all a cover he held fragilely in place as his mother grew sicker and his father drank more and more. His mother died the summer after 3rd grade. He didn't think Lisa knew about any of that and Jack didn't want to tell her now. Things had changed for him since then. His fifth grade teacher had found him one day in the boy's room, clutching his arm and sobbing quietly. Mr. Kenner looked at the arm, pronounce it broken and had gently coaxed the truth of its origins from Jack. After he had admitted it, Jack had several moments of breathless, white fear, knowing that if he was sent back home now, if no one believed him, his father would probably kill him. But that hadn't happened. Jack's father went to jail and he and his brother went to a foster home. His foster parents were ok. He was pretty happy. He had his own room in a nice house. Not as good as he suspected Lisa's house was. He remembered that her family was rich. Very rich. But Lisa was a nice sweet girl, not stuck up at all. He was pretty much in awe that somebody like him had made an impression on a girl like her.  
  
They walked around for awhile, played a few games and lost them all, and wound up standing in front of the Ferris wheel. She had looked up at him much like Kate had tonight. Her voice was soft as she asked the question.  
  
"What do you think? Want to?"  
  
Jack had given tickets for both of them. Somewhere around the tenth revolution Lisa had kissed him. A sweet kiss, on the lips, not quite passionate, not quite sisterly. Jack' s first. When they got off, she had given him a little wave and had disappeared into the crowd.  
  
And now, tonight, Kate was standing in front of him, making him think of Lisa. Lisa reminded him of happy times, of seeing yourself through someone else's eyes and liking what you saw. Kate was beautiful and sweet, wealthy but remarkably down to earth. She like Lisa, viewed him as brave and strong. Inside Jack was whispering though. "How can somebody like you make an impression on her, Jack? She doesn't know the real you. You don't know the real you. You're not ready for this, you know that, don't you? You will tear her world apart." No no no, he thought. I want to try. With a woman like Kate, I have to try.  
  
So just like he had done twenty years ago he peeled off the ride tickets and got onto the Ferris wheel with a blond-haired, blue-eyed girl. Their car stopped somewhere near the top and he kissed her. Just enough to be past brotherly, just enough to let her know that there was more to come. That he wanted there to be more. And when they got off, he held her hand, having no intention of having her disappear into the crowd.  
  
THE END 


End file.
